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Warehouse automation has traditionally been associated with efficiency and labor savings. But as supply chains face persistent labor challenges and volatile demand, companies are asking a different question: Can automation make their operations more resilient?
The key to successful automation is not simply adding technology but selecting the right solutions for each operational challenge and orchestrating them to work together, as outlined in the annual State of Logistics report produced by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) and Kearney and presented by Penske Logistics.
Key highlights:
- U.S. business logistics costs came in at $2.4 trillion, amounting to 7.8% of the national GDP. In 2025, those numbers were $2.6 trillion and 8.7% of GDP.
- There are five structural forces that define the macro environment and show no signs of resolution: Asymmetrical global growth; tightening financial conditions due to persistent inflation and rising public debt; accelerating trade flow and geoeconomic realignment; labor market and productivity constraints; and energy price volatility.
- Artificial Intelligence has made the crossover from a technology to try to one that delivers measurable commercial returns in specific, well-defined applications. AI use in the supply chain crafts value via four capabilities: Interpreting, predicting, recommending and executing. Adoption of AI remains uneven by shippers and logistics providers across the supply chain, with a large gap between companies that have placed AI into core workflows vs. those still restricted to isolated point solutions, with many having none at all.
- Companies are responding to labor constraints with accelerated use of automation and digital investments in AI.
- The report provides some strategic implications that can be applied to the current environment including: Design for resilience, not just efficiency; prioritizing asset productivity over footprint expansion; intelligence, and the competitive capabilities that accompany end-to-end visibility; accelerating digital and automation ROI; and reassessing capital structure and investment pacing.
